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Video shows police officers lifting a taxi off of a pedestrian in the Bronx on Sunday. The man is in critical condition. (Published Monday, Jan. 14, 2013)

Police officers responding to an accident in the Bronx in which a teenager was struck and pinned underneath a taxicab wasted no time in working to get the vehicle off the victim, dramatic video shows.

Dozens of officers rushed to get the yellow cab off the pedestrian at the corner of East 138th Street and Brown Place early Sunday morning, as seen on cell phone video shot by a neighbor.

Witness Recounts Pedestrian Rescue from Taxi

NYPD officers responding to an accident decided the fastest way to save a young man's life in the Bronx was to lift the taxi that hit him. A witness recounts the dramatic rescue. Tracie Strahan reports. (Published Monday, Jan. 14, 2013)

"You could hear the guttural roar... and they lifted it up and moved it off him," said Enrique Elias.

Elias, also a taxi driver, had just returned home from his shift when the rescue unfolded in front of his apartment building.

"When I heard the hit -- I mean, I know that sound," he said.

Elias said the officers first tried to save the victim's life as he blew past them. They shouted at him not to run into oncoming traffic.

"It hit him. He literally ran right into it as it was passing, so [the driver] couldn't even stop," said Elias.

Soon, officer after officer from the 40th Precinct down the street swarmed onto the scene, grabbing a piece of the taxi's back end, hoisting it, then dragging it inch by inch off the victim underneath.

The 19-year-old victim was rushed to Lincoln Hospital, where a spokeswoman confirmed he underwent surgery. At last check, he was listed in very critical condition.

The taxi driver is not facing any charges.

Elias is still stunned by what he saw.

"That, I've never seen, and I gotta tell you, that honestly makes me proud to be a New Yorker," he said.